Refashionista Co-operative idea

Refashionista Co-operative idea

As I mentioned in my New Year challenges post I was so sad to see Wardrobe Refashion shut doors and I am so not ready to stop refashioning as I had practically just signed up when this happened in the Autumn. On the other hand I completely understand that it had all become a bit much for Nikki do do on her own. It would have been too much for me too! I already run a couple of blogs and have no need to start a new one all on my own at the moment. But I do want to see a place for all those great refashion contributions to be gathered again. This is when I came up with the idea of a refashionista co-operative. I first put the idea to Erica from Recycled Fashion who liked it. In the meantime we decided to go ahead and interview some of the lovely refashionistas we had met through WR. So far this has resulted in an interview with Zoe from So, Zo… and Gillian from ReFashionista.net.

During the interview with Zoe I mentioned the co-operative idea again and she seemed to like it too! So I decided that now that we are in the new year it’s the right time to see if I can get some more people on-board. I will go through my initial idea below but I want to make it clear first that this idea is dependent on finding a group of people who are willing to put in a little time each to be editors and each to have a ‘share’ in the blog. I would also like to join as an editor, but I won’t be, in fact no-one will be, running the blog as such. It should be run by the editors in unison or not at all! This is the only idea I want to stick with quite firmly. The other ideas I come up with can and will probably be changed depending on the people who join as editors.

Here goes:

1) First we set-up a self-contained blog on a blogging platform like wordpress, typepad or blogger. The reason for this is that it is free and therefore it would not be dependent on the person who set it up or is owns the hosting space.

2) The second part is to keep it mainly as a blog and get contributors to sign up to contribute in the same way as on Wardrobe Refashion.

What’s in it for the contributors?
I think this is a very valid question as without contributors writing about their own refashion projects there is not much point of this blog. They create the content, which is the most valuable part of the blog.

Contributors will have a platform and a community in which to spread the word about their projects and their own blogs.

There will be a page dedicated to contributors listing each with a link to their blog (if they have one)

Contributors will have the chance of entering sponsored giveaways.

3) The third bit is to make sure that there are around 3-5 editors at any one time. More than 5 would be OK but not less than 3. Each editor would take a week in turn to moderate the blog. If there are 3 editors it will mean a weeks work each every 3 weeks.
The idea of having this many editors on equal footing is that if one feels that they need to leave and do other things or just needs a break for a while we can take on another editor.

Tasks for editors when they are moderating for a week:

Check through new posts and comments to make sure that they are above board and not spam.

Check that new posts are registered in the correct categories and are tagged sufficiently.

Other tasks that the moderator on duty or any other editor can do when and if they feel like it:

Comment on contributors posts and generally encourage a community spirit.

Review books (once we get going we can approach publishers for review copies)

Set-up and run sponsored giveaways (again once we get going)

Contribute their own refashions

Write general posts about refashioning or similar subjects.

What do editors get out of it:
All editors would have an equal position in the co-operative and no-one would get paid for their time. But as there would hopefully be quite a few of us we would not need to spend that much time on the administrative / moderating side of things. But here are some suggestions to what editors could get out of this:

Each editor would have their badge / link to their own blog displayed in a prominent place on the blog (i.e. free advertising).

Each editor would have a bio on a separate page where they can talk about their own interests and expertise (again free advertising).

Editors can send off requests to publishers for free review copies of books (i.e. free books – which they of course have to review on the blog).

So that’s the idea so far. Let me know what you think? Even though I don’t want to be the one running the site alone, I don’t mind coordinating it to begin with. So you can either comment your support here or contact me (eddie at roued dot com) and let me know if you are interested in being an editor. If there are enough editors and support for this idea then we will begin to take on contributors. If you have an interest in being a contributor you can also let me know in the comments below.

Finally I just want to thank Erica and Zoe for encouraging me with this idea.

I really like this idea. I found out about Wardrobe Refashion too late to get a chance to participate. A collective blog would really keep us all inspired. It's nice to know there are other like-minded people out there and that you aren't just creating in a vacuum. Let me know if I can help.

Hi Eddie and thanks for reaching out! I too have been really sad that WR has shut down (I even helped Nikki out with the News section, featuring refashionistas and doing a couple reviews, for a couple months) and think this sounds like a great idea! I would be happy to be on board as an editor as long as there are at least 3 of us (preferably more than that though).

christy

so i am just starting to refashion things. I do it all by hand right now until i get a machine. I have been looking online for like 3 days on how to refashion a long denim overall?jumper dress. the ones where they have the straps over your shoulders that slide onto the button in the from. kinda like the overalls a farmer would wear….just a dress. I have no clue what to do with it….could someone give some ideas or websites?

[…] Anyway, this left many refashionistas out there in the cold with nowhere to go and share their projects. During my short time on WR I had met some lovely people and I wanted to keep the spirit of WR going. But I didn’t want to start another blog on my own and then get run down by it. So I came up with the idea of a community run community blog, if that makes sense. There would be not one but several editors and no one person would be in charge or have ownership of the blog. So a real co-op. In January 2011 I posted the Refashion Co-op Idea post. […]